Summer League is an incredibly small sample size at five games but it provides a first look at incoming rookies and a chance to see development from promising sophomores. For Warriors guard Klay Thompson, the sample size was even smaller at just two games, but coaches and management were no doubt pleased with what they saw.
A lot has been made out of Thompsons performance after Monta Ellis was traded (18.6 ppg in 34 mpg). Whether he is a legitimate NBA star or not remains to be seen but it's clar he 's an excellent shooter (41.3 3-point percentage, first among rookies, 18th in the NBA).
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His two games in Summer League indicate that skill has not deserted him. He lit it up in Las Vegas, shooting 71.4 percent from three-point range in his two games, which would be an NBA record for those scoring at home. Besides shooting well, the Warriors can be encouraged by how Thompson looked within the offense. He ran crisp cuts off down screens and passed well, racking up nine assists in two games.
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The news was not all good, though. The rest of his shooting numbers were sub-par. He was 4-for-13 from inside the arc. That broke down further to 2 of 5 inside the paint and 2 of 8 on long twos.
Using a much larger sample size, courtesy of Hoopdata.com, last season Thompson shot above the league average at the rim (65.8 percent), from 10-to-15 feet (44.2 percent), and from 16-to-23 feet (41 percent). But he struggled from 3-to-9 feet (20.9 percent). So his shooting inside the arc should not be much of a concern, but it is something to watch as he continues to develop.
Overall, his performance was about as positive as you could ask for from a second-year player tabbed as the starting two-guard. He gelled well with his other young teammates, played with confidence and performed at a high level. Not a bad two games after practicing with Team USA all week.